President Donald Trump has confirmed reports he authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela - and said he was considering strikes targeting drug cartels there.
US forces have already conducted at least five strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing 27 people. UN-appointed human rights experts have described the raids as extrajudicial executions.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump stated that the US is looking at land as it considers further strikes in the region.
Trump has sought to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, who the US and others do not recognise as Venezuela's rightful leader following disputed elections.
The increased US military presence in the region has raised fears in Caracas of a possible attack.
According to the New York Times, Trump's authorisation would allow the CIA to carry out operations in Venezuela unilaterally or as part of any wider US military activity.
It remains unknown whether the CIA is planning operations in Venezuela, or whether those plans are being kept as contingencies.
Trump explained his reasoning for the CIA's involvement in Venezuela: Number one, they [Venezuela] have emptied their prisons into the United States of America, he stated. And the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, so you get to see that, but we're going to stop them by land also.
The president declined to answer when asked whether the CIA authorisation would allow the agency to topple Maduro, for whom the US has offered a $50m (£37m) bounty, asserting that it would be a ridiculous question to answer.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez of Venezuela vowed on television to defend their sovereignty against aggression: let no aggressor dare because they know that here is the people of [Venezuelan liberator Simón] Bolívar, that here is the people of our ancestors with their swords raised to defend us under any circumstance.
On Truth Social, Trump remarked that intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known drug-trafficking corridor. The recent strikes are part of a broader military strategy aimed at pressuring Maduro's government, which has seen the deployment of significant air and naval assets in the region along with approximately 4,000 troops.
The situation remains precarious as Maduro's government continues to deny US allegations of drug trafficking and condemns the strikes.
